Schutzhund
08-19-2005, 03:59 AM
Budget
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Prefer 400, but would go as high as 500 if value for money shows it is better.
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
I would prefer a small camera. Presently I am using a Panasonic DV-PV953 mini DV, recording MPEG4 to SD, so it is rather large. I love the size of the SD500 or the Exilim EX-Z750, but they fall short in required features.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Minimum would be 6, but would truly prefer 7, with 8 being great.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Minimum 3, 4 would be better. Smooth zoom is a must.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
I would have to rate this around an 8 for video image quality as a minimum. I would love a 10, but seriously doubt I would find such an animal.
Do you care for manual controls?
Yes, to some degree. I am not stupid, but I have never had anyone explain all the fine combos (F-stop, speed, etc) and how they work. Basically, I try all kinds of settings until I stuble upon the one that works the best. This means going through all the manual and automatic settings. I do read the manuals from cover to cover.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
This camera will have one main use. Still pictures will sometimes be taken, but 99% of the time, I will be taking MPEG4 video night shots of action for web posting (as long as each file size is less than 10MB, it's okay). The shots will be of dogs in training. The shots are generally taken behind the local baseball diamond at full night. The only light is what we get from the outfield of the baseball diamond. Many times the dogs start in the limited light and end up running into even darker, further areas where the trees are. As a prime example, have a look at this video:
http://geekette.hopto.org/dogs/Remi/20050606/00000028.ASF
You can see how we start out in limited light, then run into the trees. Sometimes we work in the dog park where the lights are a little bit better, but not much. Certainly nothing to write home about.
Wind cut is important, plus a good microphone that can capture the dog bark from the distance. Again, the above clip shows the environment and requirements. Because of the constant movement, I absolutely have to be able to zoom back and forth while recording. This is where the EX-Z750 fails (it cannot zoom while recording), while the SD500 will zoom, but only digital. I do not have one to try out, but my best guess is that between the digital zooming and lack of light, when the dogs run in the trees I would be up the proverbial creek.
The Panasonic that I presently use has 3 CCD and does a pretty good job of the low light, but the fps and display sizes could be doubled to make me happy. Again, I use the MPEG4 to SD function on that camera rather than the mini DV tape. The reason has to do with time. In one week, I can take up to roughly 100 videos, all for posting (training purposes) on our web site. If I had to convert them from the tape AVI to a compressed MPEG format before updating each person's web page, I would be spending more time doing that than I have and never being able to train my own dog (let alone work.....). So the MPEG to SD to web site is quick and effecient for me.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
1% of the time.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Low light.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
99%, low light, night action.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
No
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
No
Thanks for your help!
Schutzhund
This vehicle is unlocked and the keys are under the Dobermann
* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
Prefer 400, but would go as high as 500 if value for money shows it is better.
Size
* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
I would prefer a small camera. Presently I am using a Panasonic DV-PV953 mini DV, recording MPEG4 to SD, so it is rather large. I love the size of the SD500 or the Exilim EX-Z750, but they fall short in required features.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Minimum would be 6, but would truly prefer 7, with 8 being great.
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Minimum 3, 4 would be better. Smooth zoom is a must.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
I would have to rate this around an 8 for video image quality as a minimum. I would love a 10, but seriously doubt I would find such an animal.
Do you care for manual controls?
Yes, to some degree. I am not stupid, but I have never had anyone explain all the fine combos (F-stop, speed, etc) and how they work. Basically, I try all kinds of settings until I stuble upon the one that works the best. This means going through all the manual and automatic settings. I do read the manuals from cover to cover.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
This camera will have one main use. Still pictures will sometimes be taken, but 99% of the time, I will be taking MPEG4 video night shots of action for web posting (as long as each file size is less than 10MB, it's okay). The shots will be of dogs in training. The shots are generally taken behind the local baseball diamond at full night. The only light is what we get from the outfield of the baseball diamond. Many times the dogs start in the limited light and end up running into even darker, further areas where the trees are. As a prime example, have a look at this video:
http://geekette.hopto.org/dogs/Remi/20050606/00000028.ASF
You can see how we start out in limited light, then run into the trees. Sometimes we work in the dog park where the lights are a little bit better, but not much. Certainly nothing to write home about.
Wind cut is important, plus a good microphone that can capture the dog bark from the distance. Again, the above clip shows the environment and requirements. Because of the constant movement, I absolutely have to be able to zoom back and forth while recording. This is where the EX-Z750 fails (it cannot zoom while recording), while the SD500 will zoom, but only digital. I do not have one to try out, but my best guess is that between the digital zooming and lack of light, when the dogs run in the trees I would be up the proverbial creek.
The Panasonic that I presently use has 3 CCD and does a pretty good job of the low light, but the fps and display sizes could be doubled to make me happy. Again, I use the MPEG4 to SD function on that camera rather than the mini DV tape. The reason has to do with time. In one week, I can take up to roughly 100 videos, all for posting (training purposes) on our web site. If I had to convert them from the tape AVI to a compressed MPEG format before updating each person's web page, I would be spending more time doing that than I have and never being able to train my own dog (let alone work.....). So the MPEG to SD to web site is quick and effecient for me.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
1% of the time.
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Low light.
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
99%, low light, night action.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
No
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
No
Thanks for your help!
Schutzhund
This vehicle is unlocked and the keys are under the Dobermann